Andy Rich was a busy man in Louisville a decade ago, running the influential Initial Records label and Krazy Fest, a weekend of up-and-coming, loud and proud bands on the label or otherwise part of the scene. Rich led the festival annually from 1998 through 2003, and soon after left the Louisville music scene for … Continued

In my time at the helm of Raised Relief, I’ve demonstrated a commitment to intellectual and ideological consistency about as often as I’ve demonstrated a commitment to wearing matching socks. As a result, I suspect that my politics, expressed half a page at a time these past couple of years, may have the appearance of … Continued

A few weeks ago, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer did something strange. He hosted a book launch event at City Hall. I met Mayor Fischer for the first time last year during the primary season. I’ve always liked him, but couldn’t wholeheartedly support his candidacy until the general election because my friend Tyler Allen was in … Continued

As Barbara Goff walks down a long hallway, her thick, round glasses catch a reflection of a stone Jesus statue. She turns right at an unused slate blackboard, and opens the door to her apartment, its hardwood floors being gently plucked by the paws of her high-strung toy poodle, Dolly. Goff, a bubbly 70-year-old with … Continued

ANTI-FLAG Fist-in-the-air political proto-punk has no better standard-bearer than Anti-Flag. With a perfectly fitting name (and a fan base that early on took to wearing upside-down flag patches), the Pittsburgh quartet take the stage and immediately jettison all subtlety in favor of songs like “Fuck Police Brutality” and “Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington D.C.” Frontman Justin Sane … Continued

Readers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to verify these listings. To get your club, comedian, musical act or karaoke listed, please send e-mail to pberkowitz@leoweekly.com with PLUGGED IN in the subject line. The deadline is NOON THURSDAY the week before the show happens. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. … Continued

<SPORTS> Wednesday, May 18 Paul Hornung exhibit Portland Museum 2308 Portland Ave. • 776-7678 www.goportland.com $7; 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Tue.-Thu.) The Portland Museum opens a new permanent exhibit today featuring the memorabilia of football great — and Portland neighborhood boy — Paul Hornung. A member of every national football hall of fame, Hornung first made … Continued

Chasing Ophelia Directed by Scot Atkinson. Continues through May 21 at The Bard’s Town Theatre, 1801 Bardstown Road. For tickets or more information, call 749-5275 or go to www.thebardstown.com. It’s a mystery, the relationship between writers and their fictional characters. And what we know of it is based exclusively on one-sided reports from writers — … Continued

Correction In the May 11 cover story “The Good Thief,” state auditor Crit Luallen’s comparison of Dismas Charities’ executive culture to that of Kentucky Retirement Systems should have been between Dismas and the Kentucky League of Cities. LEO regrets the error. Not So Green David Serchuk’s April 20 LEO story on green giants in our … Continued

THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: MUSIC MAKES A CITY: A LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA STORY 2010; $34.95, UR A musical love letter to Louisville. Owsley Brown and Jerome Hiler lensed this wonderful doc about the music scene in our little hometown, which was praised from coast to coast as ground zero for contemporary classical music during the mid-20th … Continued

In the children’s story “The Night at the Museum,” a watchman named Hector (Anglicized to “Larry” in editions following the film adaptation of the book) discovers the treasures he was hired to protect come to life during his graveyard shift. The fantasy, penned by Milan Trenc in 1993, captures a lot of the wonder museums … Continued

Sometimes I think the sandwich is the perfect food concept. Think about it: It’s meat you can grab and eat, but without actually grabbing the meat. And you can put other tasty stuff on it, because the two slices of bread — or as I prefer to refer to them, meat handles — provide a … Continued

With all the justified uproar these days about mountaintop removal, miner safety and other issues surrounding Kentucky’s beleaguered coal industry, it may seem a bit odd to have something nice to say about coal. But damn! A coal-burning oven makes one fine pizza. What’s more, the good folks at Coals Artisan Pizza, recently arrived in … Continued

You can tell just by looking at the icons of most beer podcasts that they contain the worst of all that’s wrong with programs not mediated by public airwaves. They’re silly, long-winded and self-referential. In other words, they’re delivered by ex-frat brothers or large-gutted geezers in Hawaiian shirts (who may also be ex-frat brothers). The … Continued

Lucky Pineapple plays its final show on Friday after a seven-year run making an unexpected mix of punk, lounge, jazz, gypsy and many other conflicting sounds for delighted locals — and a confused MTV audience. The driving forces look back: MATT DODDS — guitars, vocals, percussion: It began with me and Joey Kelly, who … Continued

Louisville’s Southern Exposition, 1883-1887: The City of Progress By Bryan S. Bush. The History Press; 128 pgs., $19.99. “The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” from William Faulkner’s “Requiem for a Nun,” kept running through my head as I read Bryan Bush’s book on the Southern Exposition. Some of the things that make Louisville … Continued

By the time Derby is over, most of us are pretty tired of having to explain ourselves to outsiders. Although there is something endearing and precious about the way out-of-towners look around, amazed to discover that an idiosyncratic metropolis exists in what they previously assumed was a cornfield stretching all the way from D.C. to … Continued

If it’s ever crossed your mind what Jack White, Norah Jones, Danger Mouse and Italian film composer Daniele Luppi have been up to lately, they’ve gone west — far west — while Rome gives away where they’ve gone. Recorded in Rome’s Forum Studios over the course of five years, the album credits much of its … Continued

There’s a new Cars album. Not to be confused with a New Cars album; the New Cars was a glorified tribute act that formed when Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton teamed with three former members of Utopia and toured playing old Cars songs, with Todd Rundgren singing lead. The new Cars album reunites original members … Continued

Since his much admired 2008 release, Learning to Bend, Ben Sollee has found himself in favorable musical partnerships with fellow Kentuckians Daniel Martin Moore and Jim James, and has fortified his political voice with the “Ditch the Van Tour.” With Inclusions, Sollee takes the next step in his career, plunging deeper into his exploration of … Continued

Warning! Don’t listen to this album while you’re driving. The stretched out, soothing sounds of harps, bouzoukis, strings, recorders and brass mingle to produce a debut album your massage therapist will love. And if you can persuade him or her to play it while you’re getting your back rubbed, you’ll be in ecstasy. Allow yourself … Continued

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